This will help people with long term antibiotics

[patient.journey]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130703160623.htm#.UeMoI7a48Ew.facebook

A team of scientists at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University has discovered why long-term treatment with many common antibiotics can cause harmful side effects -- and they have uncovered two easy strategies that could help prevent these dangerous responses. They reported the results in the July 3rd issue of Science Translational Medicine.

Guys you must read this !!

 

[Ema]

I wonder if using glutathione directly would work too or if it has to be NAC?

Interesting!

Ema

 

[SOC]

"Biologically-Inspired Engineering", eh? Not plain ole Bio-engineering? Only at Harvard.

 

[Little Bluestem]

It the NAC protects the body cells from oxidative stress, why does it not do the same for the bacteria?

 

[WillowJ]

It the NAC protects the body cells from oxidative stress, why does it not do the same for the bacteria?

I don't think the mechanism of the antibiotics is oxidative stress. So the antibiotics would be killing bacteria by stopping them from making cell walls (most common mechanism), or stopping them from using ribosomes so they can no longer use their DNA to 'keep the lights on' in the cell (so to speak; this is called 'housekeeping' in cell biology), or other such major disruptions in function.


article covering side effects of NAC and linking to research articles on the efficacy of NAC in various diseases:
http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/n-acetylcysteine